By Diagnostics World Staff
January 30, 2018 | Foundation Medicine and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) announced today a collaboration in which Foundation Medicine’s comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) tests will be used to inform patient eligibility for oncology clinical trials through the EORTC’s Screening Patients for Efficient Clinical Trial Access (SPECTA) program. SPECTA is a pan-European network built by the EORTC with key institutions collaborating to provide efficient access for patients to molecularly driven clinical trials.
“Oncology clinical trials are essential to advancing research and drug development while enabling patient access to potential clinical treatment options. Yet, currently only a small fraction of cancer patients enroll in clinical trials,” said Vincent Miller, chief medical officer at Foundation Medicine, in a written statement. “The EORTC is a renowned leader in integrated translational research, and their SPECTA program is an exciting opportunity for oncologists to utilize our robust genomic profiling tests to more efficiently match patients with appropriate clinical trials. Together, Foundation Medicine and the EORTC can work toward improved access to innovative clinical trials, helping to accelerate precision oncology for more patients.”
“SPECTA serves as a shared and integrated translational and clinical research infrastructure for knowledge development and ultimately allows matching patients to clinical trials based on both their clinical characteristics and the molecular profiles of their tumors,” said Denis Lacombe, EORTC Director General. “Our collaboration with Foundation Medicine will provide access to innovative, biomarker-driven clinical trials that will ultimately usher in a new era of targeted therapy in oncology.”
Under the agreement, Foundation Medicine will provide genomic testing services for the SPECTA program through three of its genomic profiling assays: FoundationOne, its flagship assay for solid tumor cancers that includes analysis of genomic biomarkers such as microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutational burden (TMB), FoundationOneHeme, an assay for hematologic malignancies and sarcomas that also includes MSI analysis, and FoundationACT, a liquid biopsy assay for solid tumors. Genomic profiling results will help inform patient eligibility and facilitate enrollment in clinical trials. Samples will be processed at any one of Foundation Medicine’s laboratories located in the United States and Europe.